TENNESSEE LEGISLATIVE PRAYER CAUCUS FORMS TO EXERCISE THEIR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND FIGHT AGAINST ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANITY.
Conservative Christians believe that Christianity is under attack in the U.S. Research also established the U.S. as one of the countries where Christianity is facing the most harassment. Perhaps it is the protests by humanists, atheists and other non-theistic groups against the display of religion and the push for complete separation of church and state that has created this fear among the Christians in America. This fear for survival could also be the root cause of the growing intolerance towards all those elements in the U.S. that are not white Christian American. It is this aspect that politicians have been trying to tap into to leverage their political campaigns.
At a time when Christianity is seen to be on a steady decline in the U.S., Conservative Christians see a way out only in doubling their efforts at being religious. The formation of the Tennessee Legislative Prayer Caucus is one of the best examples that we have of this.
The lawmakers who have come together to form this caucus say that their aim is to uphold the nation’s Judeo-Christian values and to fight for religious liberty. Members say their goal is not to form a politically inclined alliance or a partisan group. Instead, they want to form a group focused on prayer, and open to members from all political parties who want to join them.
Prayer groups across the nation have been formed as a sort of defense against the attacks Conservative Christians feel that they are facing in America. As such, the Tennessee Legislative Prayer Caucus is not the only prayer group of its type, even in the capitol. This group is connected to a larger group, the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation based in Virginia. This networking of various prayer groups speaks volumes of how American Christians are trying hard to preserve their Christian American values in modern-day America.
Although one of the members of the caucus, Rep. Mark Pody says the intention of the group is not to blur the lines between church and state, he insisted that as a lawmaker he does not, and will not keep aside his Christian values in his practice. He says that everything he does is rooted in scripture, and he will turn to the Bible for every decision.